The present application relates to a stabilizing device for axles of vehicles, such as motor vehicles, trailers, semi-trailers or the like.
Stabilizing devices of the type in question are known from the prior art. Such stabilizing devices are provided between the axle body and a part which is deflectable in correspondence with the wheels, such as a tie rod. Such a stabilizing device is known from DE 197 16 150 A1, for example. During cornering or during overtaking, a lateral force is generated in the tire contact area. Said lateral forces (to the left and to the right) create a steering torque which acts on the steering arm and forces it into angularity. For a synchronous rotatory motion between the left and the right steering arm there is provided a tie rod. Here, the stabilizing device is attached at the one side to the axle body and at the other side to the tie rod so that the wheels are returned to their original or zero position in a damped manner. If the vehicle is to be moved backwards, it is necessary to fix the wheel in the original position, to which end pneumatic or mechanical reverse gear locks are additionally used in the prior art. However, a problem of such systems is that they consist of a plurality of individual assemblies, which leads to a great demand for available space and high manufacturing costs.
Therefore, the object underlying the present invention is to provide a stabilizing device for the axles of vehicles as well as a steered trailing axle of vehicles, such as motor vehicles, trailers, semi-trailers or the like, which is designed flexibly, which is capable of fulfilling the functions of steering stabilization and reverse gear lock or steering lock when there is little space available and at low manufacturing costs.